The Raging Wave
by Arashi Benikaze
Summary: As she fell to her death form Aizen's betrayal, Tier Harribel was assaulted with memories of an orange clad, blonde young teen who was also suffering from a great betrayal from those he trusted. Why is she seeing these memories, what does it mean for her? Based on Arainami, the original of this story.
1. Reoccurrence of Betrayal

(A/N) Hi everyone I'm back and for good this time! Life has been really hectic for me in the last 6 months so I have been too busy to even plan out the chapters until recently. I even lost what I did have planned including the second chapter from Arainami, which sucked big time.

I have changed several things around in the story, such as Naruto's age is 15 instead of 13 and how he became Harribel in the first place.

The update intervals will probably be around 2-3 weeks, which should give me ample time to get the chapters done with minimal mistakes. Also I will need a website where I can find the techniques from the Naruto world in Japanese, and I am looking for a beta/ co-writer, please let me know if you can help with either of these, I will be grateful.

++Warning++

This story will eventually have Yuri pairings and mentions of Yuri situations, if that's not your thing then leave now or skip them when the warnings appear. All comments and reviews that flame those themes will be ignored as I have given ample warning.

And now onto the story!


	2. Betrayal of the Soul

(A/N) There are some tweaks and changes in the first half of this chapter that will help to explain the story better in the long run and the second half of this chapter is all new so please read it all to see how Harribel's second chance at life starts. A couple of things that have changed though, is Naruto's age when he dies is 15 instead of 13 ( a cliché in a sense I know, but a much needed one I feel), and as to how he became a woman which will hopefully, while not entirely original, will add to the plausibility of certain events that transpired in his life.

Also, I would like a beta to help make sure I don't miss anything that could ruin the flow of my story, and if anyone knows where I can find a list of techniques from the Naruto world in Romaji I would be grateful.

And now onto the story…

++Warning++

This story will eventually have Yuri pairings and mentions of Yuri situations, if that's not your thing then leave now or skip them when the warnings appear. All comments and reviews that flame those themes will be ignored as I have given ample warning.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Bleach; this is for fun only and is non-profit. All I own will be the OCs that might be used in the story.

'Ute, Tiburon' Speech

_'Ute, Tiburon'_ Thoughts

**'Ute, Tiburon'** Techniques/ Jutsus

Chapter One: Betrayal to the Soul

Tier Harribel fell from the sky, rapidly losing strength and blood from the fatal wound she had received from Aizen's unexpected strike, his parting words of betrayal ringing through her mind as she continued to plummet to the earth below,

"Enough, I'm disappointed in you. Even with your power, you are still unworthy to serve and fight for me." Instead of being shocked or angered from the man's betrayal, her mind became clouded and dazed when Aizen's blade struck her, not from the striking pain but by a seemingly lost memory that flittered across her mind, of a golden blonde youth in a bright orange jumpsuit being struck across the back with an electrically charged kunai knife, paralysing him after he set down a fellow youth in front of what appeared to be his leader. The memory was also charged with a strong sense of betrayal as the youth saw the figure of his sensei in the corner of his blackening eye-sight before unconsciousness claimed him.

As the memory faded, Tier shook her head to focus her mind on what happened after Aizen had struck, or more importantly his statement that confirmed his betrayal and contempt of the Espada, and especially her, not that it entirely shocked or surprised her when she thought about it.

"To think, that I went to the trouble and effort of finding you all to give you power to serve me, that even with all the gifts I have given you. That all the power you each possess combined doesn't even compare to my power at all. All of you have become a waste of time and effort. Such Pitiful creatures." After hearing Aizen's damning statement, the fresh memory of her Fraccion's rapidly declining reiatsu and the pure anguish and feeling of betrayal she had gained from the of that child, caused Tier to finally lose what little emotional control she had left and allowed her rage to consume her that resulted in her attacking Aizen blindly, stabbing him through his chest.

Tier weakly chuckled as she continued to plummet, remembering that her brief relapse in judgment and apathy had allowed her anger to control her and miss his illusion, which resulted in Aizen landing the fatal wound she now suffered. The thought of how her demise came about felt oddly felt fitting, sacrificing her composure to make a final stand, as it were. Though she frowned when she remembered Aizen's final words to her, those words seemed to hold more betrayal and pain to them than neither she nor Aizen realised,

"You're such a pain. You will never raise your zanpaktou against me again!" As Aizen finished his monolog he shunpoed behind her ,his blade biting into her flesh deeply, from the left shoulder to the right hip, severing most of her internal organs and nerves in such a way that ensured that she would die a slow, painful death. Though before and even during the attack, Harribel had frozen and her eyes glazed over with another assault of memories hit her mind like a speeding bullet.

++Flashback Start++

"Demon, you shall be executed publically, to show everyone that you will never raise arms against our village again, that the lives of our loved ones you took fifteen years ago will finally be avenged. May you be imprisoned within the lowest depths of hell to burn for all the innocents you have savagely destroyed!" Bellowed a busty, pigtailed blonde woman, the gathered people around the room roared in approval and started to congratulate each other on ending the demon's plight to the village, not even caring that the blonde youth was still in the room and heard everything they were saying.

++Flashback End++

As her vision faded, Tier cursed Aizen for his betrayal due to his belief of her weakness and his god-complex, and also spat out the name of that woman with the up-most spite she could muster,

"Ba-chan…, always…the…..same….." Just as she was about to hit the ground, Tier Harribel, the Tercera Espada passed on from the spiritual plain.

Tier's eyes cracked open slowly, unsure of the awaiting world around her, to find it dark, cold and dismal much to relief of her pounding head. As she blinked to clear her sight, she looked around with a more critical eye to get a better feel of her surroundings and to focus her mind elsewhere in an attempt to dull the pain, if not ignore it while she took stock of the situation and the immediate area she had found herself since her awakening.

The dark area was as desolate as the sands of Hueco Mundo itself with no wind nor even a moon save for the dark blue energy that seemed to pulse steadily, in the rhythm of a beating heart within everything and yet nothing at the same time. This, combined with the desolation gave off a perfect sense of lifelessness that made her feel like she did not belong to this place, confirming it within her mind that this place was not a part of the Shinigami's fake Karakura town or even the area underneath it.

_'This must be limbo….'_ She discerned, seeing as how the area seemed to hold no life or even reiatsu residue that was in every realm. Deciding that she should gather her thoughts and focus on the memories she saw through Aizen's betrayal to better understand the feelings she got from them she mediated.

_'Those memories were all focussed on that blonde child, and all his emotions he felt through that period of time, it's as if they are my own experiences. Can they be from a soul I devoured when I was still feral? No, it can't, once I passed the Gillian stage the other souls became fully a part of me and all their memories would have been erased. So the only TRUE explanation is that they are my actual memories from when I was still alive, but that's impossible. HE was a male and I AM a woman, it's just not possible even during the Hollowfication process to change genders._

_'Even if that is possible and a big IF, why am I remembering it all, I've lived for so long that my past life isn't even a memory, it just wouldn't exist.'_ As Tier gave up on figuring out the truth for the moment, a searing pain shot through her head that caused her to curl into herself as she tried to subdue the pain from the most vivid memory to assault on her mind yet.

+Flashback Start+

"Heh, I told you I would drag your ass back to the village, even if I had to break your bones to do so." The orange clad youth grunted, the injuries he had coupled with the extra weight he had to endure from his unconscious passenger caused his voice to sound rough and unsteady. The youth looked down at his chest as he walked, specifically the left side of his chest to see the slowly closing hole from the Chidori that STILL continued to pump out blood despite the red chakra that enveloped it.

"At least the fur ball is taking care of the mess you made of me." The youth mumbled to the unresponsive form of his teammate.

"Now you can witness why Naruto Uzumaki will always keep his promises and become Hokage. No matter what you throw at me, how many times you put me down; I will keep getting back up until I fulfil my promises, DATTEBAYO!" Naruto coughed after his declaration, and then chuckled to himself.

Soon, the gates of Konoha came into view and filled Naruto with a new sense of vigour to complete his mission. But even with the elation Naruto got from seeing his home, he couldn't help but shake slightly at the feeling that something was wrong as he approached, seeing the large crowd that had gathered around the gates. But Naruto pushed those thoughts and feelings to the back of his mind, replacing them with his dreams and hopes of finally gaining respect from the village and the idea that Sakura would finally return his feelings spurned him onward.

The gossiping crowd became silent as he approached; their piercing eyes studied him as he entered the village with the unconscious Uchiha on his back, the silence seemed to suck out some of the light in his eyes as nervousness began to grip at him. A flash of pink caught Naruto's eye as he placed Sasuke down and a huge fox-like grin came to his tired but triumphant face while his nervousness ebbed away slowly,

"Sakura-Chan, I brought back the Teme just as you aske…."

**-SLAP!-**

A load echoing sound reverberated around the gates from the slap Sakura gave Naruto,

"You DEMON! Look what you did to Sasuke-Kun, I asked you to bring him back alive not beaten to near death! My mother was right! You are a demon that needs to be killed!" She shrieked before tending to Sasuke. Naruto stood there, his head turned to the side from the strength of Sakura's slap, with his heart breaking. As his eyes welled up, he couldn't understand what he'd done wrong! Sasuke tried to kill him where as he went to knock him out, the fight they had he had come out worse with two Chidori through his chest, TWO! And all Sasuke had, was a broken arm, minor cuts and bruising!

Just as he was about to say as such, the crowd began to murmur as it was parted until Tsunade Senju, the Godaime Hokage strode out of the crowd with Kakashi Hatake in tow, towards the Uchiha's downed form. Naruto stayed silent as Tsunade ignored his presence for the time being, with Naruto trying to convince himself that she was doing her duty as a medic. Though his hope was dashed as after she finished checking Sasuke, she turned to him with a glare that was filled with the up-most amount of hate, rage and disgust as she stood up.

"Naruto Uzumaki, you are under arrest for the excessive force used to retrieve Sasuke Uchiha, including the use of lethal amounts of the Kyuubi's chakra in close proximity of the Uchiha. KAKASHI! Restrain him NOW!"

Before Naruto could react, he was stabbed with a raiton charged kunai to his upper back causing Naruto to lock up with paralyses from his shoulders down. The betrayal that Naruto felt as he collapsed increased to untold levels as in his darkening vision, he caught sight of a smiling Tsunade and a satisfied looking Kakashi standing in front of the roaring crowd of villagers.

+Flashback End+

Tier awoke with a scream, her breathing deep and laboured as her terror-filled eyes ran with tears as she desperately tried to calm herself down with little success,

_'It was just a memory, possible not even my own…. I need to relax….' _As Tier focussed to find her centre, she took a quick glance around to see the scenery had changed. She found herself in an Oriental-Style room, the walls were the classic light wood mixed with paper and in the far corner of the room was two full-length mirrors with a third smaller mirror about head height in between them. In the centre of the room was a long, low bearing table with mats around in place of chairs, with a tea ceremony set placed at the table.

As she calmed down from viewing that memory, Tier felt drawn to the mirrors in the corner, she chalked it up to her natural curiosity of being actually dead that she wanted to see if she had changed again. Upon standing in front of them, she immediately noticed that the middle mirror did not reflect her image or the room, but rather was more like a darkened window, neither allowing in light nor allowing the observer to see beyond its borders.

As she gazed into the mirror on her left, she saw herself in her sealed state. Wild, golden-blonde hair with three locks with her golden lashes still framed her emerald eyes, she was still wearing her high-collared, white long sleeved jacket that stopped under the curve of her DD chest and down to the start of the black gloves she wore. Her toned, bronzed stomach and back were still being displayed to the world around her, the hipless white hakama pants held in place by the black sash that stopped at the black tabi and white zori finished off her unique look as an Arrancar.

Tier was satisfied with looking as she did when she was still an ESPADA, even if just the thought of her past affiliation with that man made her blood boil. Shaking her head to stop that line of thought, she glanced to the mirror on her right only to receive a shock at the blue eyes staring into her startled green.

It was the youth from her dreams, the memories she kept getting glimpses of. Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki. That was his name. He is still around the age of 15, in the same orange jumpsuit he was executed in. His eyes held a certain curiosity, looking at her, following her every move. It took her a few seconds to realise that Naruto wasn't in the mirror but was her reflection as he followed the mirrored opposite of her reflection in the mirror to her left. But the most startling thing about the boy was that his face kept morphing into a female version of himself that bore quite a shocking amount of resemblance to herself. From the green of her eyes to the skin on her face, the girl looked like Tier most likely would have at that age.

Before she could fully comprehend what was going on or even what she had seen, a powerful feminine voice broke her out of her thoughts.

'Bizarre, isn't it?' Harribel spun around to look at the far end of the table where a beautiful woman sat. She was wearing a silver and gold plain kimono, hugging her impressive curvy figure to perfection, her face was heart shaped, with a small delicate nose, lush full pink lips and piercing blue eyes. Her silvery- white hair fell loosely to the nape of her back framing her figure in an ethereal glow that radiated with an aura of complete self-control.

Tier was struck speechless with the woman's appearance, but also with the realisation that this women had entered the room, sat down at the table and made herself tea without her knowing it. The woman chuckled, as if reading her mind.

'Don't be so surprised at my stealth; I am the supposed "Shinigami King" after all.' Harribel couldn't believe that this woman was the one that Aizen wanted to other throw, but as she stretched out her senses, the information she received almost immediately left her mind reeling at the power feedback the woman projected, it showed how old and powerful this woman truly was. The conclusion that Tier came to, was that if she was truly in limbo like she suspected, then the being before her was who they said they were, and controlled whatever happened here. As she reaffirmed to herself about her decision, an amusingly random thought flitted through her mind,

_'If Aizen was telling the truth about over throwing the Shinigami King, he sure is in for a rude awakening.'_ As she started to smile to herself, the Shinigami King's voice woke her up to the awareness of her situation.

'As amusing as that will be if Aizen does make it to my realm, we have much to do so please, Tier Harribel, have a seat so we can discuss your situation here within my realm. And please call me Yami, Shinigami King is a title given to me by those who follow my old teachings.' The woman now named Yami stated. Harribel cautiously took a seat at the other end of the table, after getting over the shock that she was in the presence of one of the Kamis and that her thoughts could be read it seemed, in an attempt to keep a safe distance between Yami and herself so that she could react to any unfavourable situation that was thrown at her, even if she knew there would be absolutely nothing she could do to prevent it.

Yami merely grinned and shook her head at Harribel, amused at her nervous reaction to her presence,

'You have nothing to fear from me, as I have already proven that I could have killed you when I first entered the room.' Harribel saw the truth in her words, and slightly relaxed in her posture despite being uncomfortable with her current situation. Yami simply smiled, though her face became serious as she pushed over a cup of tea she had prepared to Harribel. As Tier was about to question this action, a raised hand and the serious face of the woman told her not to interrupt what she was about to say.

'I know you have questions for me but before I answer anything, you will drink all the tea in front of you and I guarantee you that you will have most of your answers to the questions that you seek.' Seeing as how she had no choice in the matter even with her being dead, Tier pulled down her collar to reveal her mask which opened with a dull _crack_. She then delicately picked up her cup and drank the tea in one go, confidant that no poison could affect her either way.

Almost immediately after draining her drink, she was assaulted with the memories of Naruto Uzumaki's life. All the beatings, verbal abuse, and the injustices he faced through-out his life and of course, the Kyuubi. All of his, admittedly small amount of fond memories of the Sandaime, the Ichirakus, his success of becoming a shinobi and the most predominate one of all, of Hinata and her confession to him.

++Flashback Start++

Naruto was bound to the wall in chains, his tattered jumpsuit barely hanging onto his frame, looking down to the floor with dead eyes. He had lost the spark he held in his eyes, there were no more emotions passing through them, no anger, no fear and no joy, simply just hollow.

The sounds of sobs and hurried steps alerted Naruto his first and most likely, only visitor in his cell. As the footsteps came to a stop, Naruto glanced to meet his sole visitor having expected to get verbally and physically abused only to be shocked to the sight of the crying face of Hinata Hyuuga.

'What are you doing here Hinata? Come to condemn me like everyone else?" Naruto asked in a dead voice, one that was in great contrast to his usual enthusiasm.

"N-No, N-Naruto-kun….*sob* I c-ca-me here to b-b-be w-w-w-with y-you…" She stuttered shyly, looking away. She could feel Naruto's gaze boring into her, unintentionally weakening her resolve and courage to finally talk to him.

Taking a slow, deep breath and wiping away the tears from her red, sore eyes, she steeled herself and looked him directly in the eye to make sure he could see her sincerity and truthfulness in her words and mind.

"I came here to t-tell you something, something t-that I-I haven't had the c-courage to do u-u-until now." Naruto's eyes showed curiosity, wondering on what Hinata had to say that took so much courage for her and whatever he thought it could be, what she said next shocked him to the core.

"N-Naruto-kun, I have always w-watched you, n-never backing down and always w-willing to help o-others even if t-they h-have been mean to y-you. Seeing you give hope to o-others and h-how you make others f-feel better a-about themselves, h-has c-c-captured my h-h-h-heart….. N-N-Naruto-kun, I-I-I…. LOVE Y-YOU!" She screamed out the last part before bursting into sobs once again, stunning Naruto completely. He honestly didn't see that coming from a mile off, but thinking back to his encounters with Hinata; he finally understood all the fainting, stuttering and overall shyness she suffered from when he was around her. He could have kicked himself for not seeing it then and not being able to return her feelings now.

As he sucked in a shuddering breath, Naruto looked at Hinata and showed her his true smile, knowing she will be the last person to see it and he wanted to make sure she understood his feelings as he gazed at her with unshed tears.

As Hinata looked up to his eyes, she gasped at his emotions radiating from his smile and facial expression. "Hinata, I am so sorry for being blind to you and not being able to explore those feelings with you. But now at least I know what true love from another is and for that I thank you. Please, find the strength to find the love as you deserve. If you do, know that I will always be happy to know you are loved." Naruto said, still smiling with his tears streaking down his face. Just as Hinata was about to respond, a guard called out to her,

"Hinata-sama, the ambassadors are here to see the prisoner so you must leave at once before they see you." Hinata's sobs doubled as she was led away, casting back a final tear-filled glance to Naruto who had his head down.

As Hinata's footsteps faded, several more sets were heard approaching his confines. Just as Naruto went to look up, a searing pain struck him through the chains causing him to rapidly lose consciousness, induced from the torture. As his world went black, a shock of red hair passed his eyes as he knew no more.

++Flashback End++

As Harribel recovered from the blinding pain she felt, she thought over all the new memories that had just assaulted her,

_'What was all that? Did Yami unlock those memories from a soul I consumed? No, that can't be right the feelings I got from them weren't second-hand but were my own. Even Yami wouldn't be able to make me fully experience someone else's memories, I'd only get an outsiders look into it. So what does this mean? The only thing that is possible is they are MY memories, but the most GLARING problem with that is I am a woman where as HE is a man!'_ A giggle knocked Harribel out of her thoughts and brought her attention back to Yami.

"Now that I have given you your memories back from when you were alive, I will answer some of your questions that you have but only the ones I deem to be important as of this moment." Yami stated seriously, getting a slow nod from Tier.

"Yami-sama, how can those memories be mine when the most obvious difference between us is our gender and our overall appearance?" Harribel asked with a hint of barely curiosity in her voice, Yami smiled at the question having expected it but frowned upon the answer she had to give.

"The Kyuubi, or more accurately her power changed you the day she was sealed within you. She is a very instinctual being, which makes her powers a form of sentience if you will and it responded to her fear of being sealed within another female Uzumaki and changed your gender in attempt to help stop from easily subduing her when you were older. And before you ask, when I sealed Kyuubi within you I didn't notice what she had done until it was too late to change it, I can only interfere so much before my siblings get involved and that is something that I don't want.."

Somehow, Tier wasn't too surprised that the Kyuubi would go to such lengths to help itself, and it always seemed to just make things far more complicated just for its', no her, own amusement. But when Yami mentioned her siblings getting involved if she had tried to change her back, her tone of voice held a spark of maliciousness to it that surprised Harribel greatly but it also warned her not to ask why that was, having decided that it wasn't worth getting involved with matters that really didn't concern herself directly.

"What happened to the Kyuubi? I have never felt her presence or even reiatsu when I became a hollow?" Tier questioned quietly, as she had failed to understand why that was.

"The Kyuubi was summoned as you died; I can't say where as I don't keep an eye on everything that happens in the living realm, no Kami can. That's also the reason your soul ended up in Hueco Mundo instead of your realm's afterlife, it was extremely unstable after Kyuubi's soul was ripped so violently away from your own, though you don't need to know the specifics of how that happened." Tier could only nod at that explanation; it did make sense about the non-existent connections this world had with either Hueco Mundo or Soul Society. Though she did feel a bit concerned at how the Kyuubi was summoned right at the point of her death.

Thinking carefully on only the most important questions, Harribel decided to get to the reason for all this.

"Why give me my memories back, especially after I have died again. What is the reason to all this?" Yami gave a warm smile to this, having expected it to be the first question to have been asked much sooner,

"Well, there are several reasons I have for doing this. The first and foremost is that in both of your lives, you have suffered far more than most in life and have never been given a fair chance even if in both worlds you have represented sacrifice. Also, your work in the Shinobi World was never completed; as you are the child of prophesy it was your birth right to bring order to that place regardless of how it is done. Another is that you are the only that is able to deal with the threat that is hidden in plain sight, but enough on that line of thought for now. There are many more but are irrelevant for you to hear. So this is my offer to you, you will return to that world and bring balance and order so that all the needless suffering to the innocent ends, so that me and my siblings won't have to erase the Shinobi World from existence and to also live the life you so desire with the family you deserve. To this end, I offer to send you back in whatever form you so choose. Will you once again become Naruto Uzumaki the Ex-Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune and mockery of your true self once more or as Tier Harribel, Ex-Tercera of the Espada, your true physical form. Choose wisely."

Tier was in total shock, to be given a second chance at life was unheard of but the price, to bring balance to the world in which she was originally betrayed in. Thinking of the positives both identities would give her, Tier made her decision and hoped that when she returned, her REAL friends would understand everything that happened to her.

"I will return as I am now, I have worked for this strength and my real identity too hard to abandon it. Changing myself back will only make things a lot harder for me to achieve my mission successfully, that's my choice." Harribel stated with finality, the determination that burned in her soulful green eyes showed that Naruto Uzumaki was still the same, no matter what life or the afterlife through at her. Yami grinned; excited at the prospect of Harribel making such an interesting choice that guaranteed the next few years would prove to be extremely entertaining for her and her siblings. Her posture became serious once more; backed by her now releasing power did Yami speak again,

"Very well Tier Harribel, you shall return to the Shinobi World as you are meant to be and will make right all the injustices that have been and are being committed against the innocent and the powerless. Your arrival will be 18 months after your death, giving you at least 2 years to catch up on what has been happening in the world. You shall go now with my blessings along with a few gifts that will help you on your journey and life." After declaring Harribel's mission, Yami appeared in front of Harribel with a mischievous twinkle in her eye before she leant forward and gave Harribel a chaste kiss to her forehead as she slipped a small pack over Tiers shoulders before she pulled away leaving a stunned and flustered Arrancar looking at her bewildered. Giggling again, Yami gave Harribel a beautiful grin and wink as a flash of light engulfed her, fazing her out of the realm of the supposed 'Shinigami King.'

Tier Harribel awoke to the distant roars of a crashing sea and calls of sea gulls flying overhead, the smells of the salt water and fish from the nearby town that drifted through her nose told her she was by one of the few coastlines in the Elemental Nations. Upon opening her emerald eyes, she saw a familiar zanbantou along with two small burial crosses,

_'Zabuza Momochi and Haku…'_ she thought in sad nostalgia. The memorial reminded her of a promise she made to herself, as Naruto, to prove that shinobi were not tools without emotions but people with morals and dreams.

_'So Wave Country is where the world's change will start, hmmm? A fitting place…..'_ Harribel thought as she gazed at the great bridge in the distance. As she stood there, gazing at the impressive sight before her, did the full impact of the situation hit Tier hard as she could see the significance the bridge held to her own life.

'_A path to a second chance, built upon the sacrifices made by the workers and villagers who made it all possible, just like my sacrifice as a Jinchuriki and as an Espada. Quite poetic really...'_ Tier then turned her gaze back upon Zabuza's zanbantou before she reached up to it and cleared a section on its surface to study her reflection.

She reached up and pulled down her collar to gaze at her mask, studying it through the gleaming surface of the blade before her,

'_I can't show my face while I have my mask still on, it would make things uncomfortable and will gain unnecessary and unwanted attention. Can I remove like a vizard if I try?' _As she thought this she gripped her mask and slowly pulled it away. As soon as the muzzle was detached completely, it broke away into golden particles along with the rest of her mask that was hidden underneath her clothes. The particles all coalesced together before it streaked to Tier's zanpaktou, gathering around it before it seemingly was absorbed into the blade changing the handle from purple to a dull orange. Tier quickly unsheathed her blade to see that the hollow part had been filled in leaving only about a 2inch wide hole that ran through the centre of it. Sheathing the blade, she turned to the zanbantou once more to study her face.

'_Though faint, I still have my whisker-marks even after losing Kyuubi, must be birth marks. They could help or hinder me in the future I suppose, but there's nothing I can do about them now. But I feel different now my mask is gone, like I'm weaker but at the same time stronger. I wonder…'_ Tier held up her hand and concentrated on the strange feeling she got from her energy and got a shock at what happened next. A bright blue, swirling sphere of energy came to life in her hand humming with power and life, ready to grind through anything it was pressed against.

"Rasengan…" Tier breathed, stunned by this revelation. Without properly thinking it through, she applied her reiatsu to it and watched as it became larger but unstable. As Tier saw it become even more unstable, she shook off her shock and cut off her reiatsu from it completely in an attempt to get it under control once more but the sudden removal of reiatsu caused it to explode in a spectacular twister of blue and yellow.

Tier shook her head to clear the ringing in her ears, cautiously looking around at her surroundings to see if she had attracted any unwanted attention from her little 'escapade' with the rasengan. For the moment, it seemed no one heard it allowing Tier to calm down slightly before she started to walk towards Wave country while she immersed herself in her thoughts.

_ 'So, I can use chakra when I don't have my mask on it seems, that's good but I will have to train in this form to see exactly what skills I can use from my hollow side. At least I know what one of Yami's gifts are now, speaking of which, what is in that small pack she gave me?'_ Tier was already half way to the bridge when she swung the pack off her shoulders to peer into it. There was a wallet with about 84,000yen ($1000), basic supplies and a scroll. Taking out the scroll, she unravelled it and read the message she was left,

_**Tier Harribel,**_

_** FINALLY! You remembered your pack! **_(Tier twitched at that)_** As you have no doubt seen, I have given you enough money to get yourself started in your mission for this world, whether you use it for new clothes (I'd say you need it, don't you?), information or even Ramen, seeing as you haven't eaten it since you died here? **_(Tier twitched again at the dig, but the thought of ramen did make her drool slightly…)

_** All joking aside, this scroll has another use that will help you when you reveal yourself. It will act as a television of sorts when you apply some reiatsu to it, showing your memories of both your lives but without revealing me directly as that would make things harder for you to explain. But you can only use this 3 times before the scroll destroys itself (also, only you can see this note**_

_** I hope this will help you or at the very least prove to be amusing for me. Good luck,**_

_** Yami**_

Tier shook her head at Yami's note, quite disturbed that her life will be amusing to the Kami. As she came back to her senses, she took note of her whereabouts and was quite surprised to find herself at the start of the bridge. It was still just as impressive as the first time she saw it as Naruto, thought she did see a plaque had been added since then, piquing her curiosity she made her way over to it.

** In memory of Wave's hero, Naruto Uzumaki, who gave back hope to our once desperate country. Through his selfless actions, he helped to free us from tyranny and has shown us the strength of heart we all have that allows us to live the life we choose. Here is our thanks and our tribute to this young, bright youth.**

** THE GREAT NARUTO BRIDGE**

Tier smiled softly at the words, thankful that her past efforts were not in vain and had granted a true chance for this country to live in peace and prosperity. Deciding that she wasted enough time, Tier focussed her Pesquisa to find the chakra signature of Inari, Tazuna's grandson, in hopes of seeing him and his family again. Pausing in mid-step at locating it, Tier vanished in a burst of static to reappear in the tree line surrounding his house, though Tier immediately dropped to one knee in exhaustion, breathing in deep greedy mouthfuls of air.

'_Seems Sonido takes more chakra to use than it does with reiatsu. I'll have to train up that weakness. Now, let's get this over with.'_ Steading herself on her feet, Tier made her way to the front door, marvelling at how much better the place looked compared to what is used to be like in her memories. Shaking off those thoughts, Tier knocked on the door and waited while she tried to decide how she would approach introducing herself. As soon as she decided on what to do, the door opened to reveal a beautiful blunette, with warm chocolate eyes,

"Hello, can I help you?" The woman asked, fairly surprised to see such an exotic, and admittedly, beautiful woman at her front door. Though as she studied the woman a little more closely, she could have sworn she was looking at a female version of Naruto though that thought dimmed her mood slightly.

"Good morning, my name is Tier Harribel and I have come here with information on Naruto Uzumaki that I am sure your family will be interested in." Tier informed Tsunami, pleased that her collar covered up the nervousness that crossed her features. Tsunami though, was surprised and a little suspicious of the woman before her but if she was telling the truth then her family can finally find out what really had happened to their hero.

"If you do, we'll be happy to hear of what you have. Though, we will want someone with us that we trust to make sure you don't try to harm us. Is that ok with you?" Tsunami questioned, having learnt not to trust everyone who were linked to the blonde hero in the past. Tier, though apprehensive, could appreciate the suspicion Tsunami was showing her and nodded her consent to the support.

Seeing her agree, Tsunami invited Tier in and led her to the living room before leaving to round up her family and glorified guard. Tier took a cursory glance around the room as she got comfortable on the sofa, enjoying the feel and look of a true family home. It was obvious that Tazuna had gotten more jobs since she was last here and doing well for himself and his family, if the new furnishings and decorations were any indication. Just as Tier was going to study the new pictures she saw on the mantle, the door opened to reveal Tazuna, Tsunami, Inari and a figure that put Tier on edge the second she saw him enter, the large mane of hair and red vest gave him away instantly. Jiraiya, the Toad Sage of Mount Myōboku.

Seeing Tier tense, Jiraiya narrowed his eyes slightly wondering why she reacted that way to his presence, but considering who he was he had expected this kind of reaction. So he did reassure her as best he could with a small gentle smile with his hands raised to show he meant no harm as the family cautiously sat down in the room.

Tier relaxed herself slightly, though still keeping her guard up, and decided to get on with what she had planned,

"I am Tier Harribel, and I have come to tell you that what you know of Naruto Uzumaki isn't entirely accurate. He never truly existed, at least in the sense that you know him and I have his memories sealed in a scroll to prove this, and that he isn't actually dead…" Before she could continue, Jiraiya had Tier against the wall by the front of her jacket as he ignored the shouting from Tazuna and Inari while he stared dangerously into Tier's green eyes.

"You LIE! Naruto was executed publically within Konoha and his body was cremated straight after, he couldn't have survived! You are playing with fire Harribel-san, I don't appreciate your accusations of us not knowing him, he did exist! His actions here prove that!" As his, and Tazuna's shout and protests quietened down, Tier closed her eyes to shield her thoughts about what she had seen. It seemed like Jiraiya hadn't been a part of what happened and seemed to regret not being there for Naruto when he needed him. As she took a shuddering breath to steady herself, a tearing sound pierced her ears and caused her eyes to open wide in shock.

Seeing what he had done, let go of her jacket before he did more damage to it though he couldn't stop the slight nose bleed he got from having realised what he grabbed and caught sight of her slowly revealing cleavage. After Tier got over the realisation of what nearly happened, she grabbed the front of jacket to prevent it from exposing off more of herself, Tier glared at the sheepish looking Jiraiya before she continued,

"If your finished trying to cop a feel _ero-baka_, I can finish what I was saying. *sigh*…before I was interrupted, he did exist but at the same time that wasn't his _real_ self. This scroll will show you how that is true. Will you all at least watch it before you ask any questions, is that possible? Tier questioned, while she watched the gawking Jiraiya and the family gather themselves before they mumbled their agreement. Tier gently removed the scroll from her pack before she unravelled it across the floor and pushed her reiatsu into it that caused a holographic screen to appear above it. As she sat herself down, Tier motioned to the gaping group to watch the display,

"It will show a recap of everything that has happened to him and about where 'he' is now" Tier whispered, getting herself ready for the onslaught of question and demands that were to follow after they finished. Jiraiya and the family became more and more horror struck at Naruto's life and the build-up to his execution. Tsunami and Inari were in tears as they watched, unable to believe what their hero had gone through, Tazuna just drank his sake more heavily while Jiraiya watched on in a grimace.

The next set of memories were of Tier's time as a hollow, her actions and beliefs as an Espada, her betrayal at Aizen's hand before her awakening in limbo. Interestingly, it showed Tier speaking into the darkness but proved that some deity was there with the booming voice that replied back to her questions before the memories finished at her arrival at Zabuza and Hakus' gravesite.

The silence after it all finished was deafening. They were stunned beyond belief! How could such a kind-hearted soul go through so much, to be changed so fundamentally after birth by what can only be a demon to what had happened at the end of their afterlife. Jiraiya was the first to recover as turned his hope-filled eyes to Tier,

"Is….Is it really you, N-Naruto?" Tier sighed before she pulled down her collar with her free hand and exposed her stunning face complete with whisker-marks,

"Yes it's me, ero-sennin…" She replied with a soft smile before she found herself in hug given to her by Jiraiya and Inari who had shot out of his chair like a missile.

"It's good to see you to Inari; I see you have become stronger since we last met, I'm glad you took what I said to heart," Tier said as she ruffled his hair before he nodded happily to her. She motioned for him to let go before she gave Jiraiya a one-armed hug in return to his now bear-like embrace.

"It's so good to see you gaki! I can't believe you've turned into such a stunning beauty! You'll be perfect for my books; I just can't wait to get you posing!" Jiraiya exclaimed lecherously, as he pulled back to eye her form up and down. Tier eyes twitched dangerously before she swiftly brought up her knee in between his legs, with the result of his pain-filled eyes bringing about a nostalgic smile to her face.

"Glad to see you haven't changed too much ero-sennin, though if I find I'm in one of your books, you will find out how sharp Tiberon can be," Tier promised, happy to see her promise was accepted by Jiraiya with his head nodding rapidly when she grabbed the blade's handle.

"I'm pleased you agree ero-sennin, dattebayo!" Tier was absolutely mortified at the return of her old verbal tic, blushing at the hearty laughs it brought out from the room.

A few hours later, Tier could be found entering a Shinobi store in an attempt to replace her clothes that Jiraiya had ruined not just ripping the jacket, but with the red stains got down in after Tier had forgotten herself.

Shaking her head slightly at the memory of Tsunami hitting Jiraiya over the head with a broom, Tier focussed on the task of getting herself some new clothing. Walking through all the racking of weapons, Tier took a glance at all the various blades and staves, marvelling at the craftsmanship of it all before focusing on the clothing section, specifically the kunoichi section, to get what she needed. Browsing through all the clothing, she couldn't quite decide on the style she should get, having never really done anything like this before in either of her lives.

'_Corsets, no. Mesh shirts, no. Tube tops, no. La…..Hmm, this could do well, and so could this. I think a blend of what I used to wear will be a good style."_ Having finally decided, Tier went about grabbing what she needed before heading off to the checkout to get the modifications she needed.

"Excuse me, can I have seals placed on this?" She questioned the clerk, showing the black clothing she wanted modified. The man studied it for a moment before nodding his head,

"What kind of seals you looking for miss? A part from the obvious breathing and strengthening seals?" The man asked gruffly, having already mentally added up the price of everything she had brought to the till.

"A self-repair seal and climate seal if it's possible?" At his nod, "Can I have the repair seal on all these then, will it take long?" The man shook his head indicating it wouldn't take long before he set about adding the seals to her order, glad to have such a significant order placed on an otherwise slow day.

He returned 10 minutes lately, pleased that it didn't take quite as long as he expected, though not being able to ogle her lithe figure probably had something to do with it, though he would deny it if he was asked later.

"That will be 66,800yen please…..Thank you, the changing rooms are just through that door over there." The man pointed out before Tier could even ask, her efforts to could her jacket together having tipped him off to that train of thought. Tier, though annoyed by his blatant staring, thanked the man and hurried off to the rooms thoroughly pleased with her choices.

15 minutes later, she emerged from the room finished with getting dressed. As the clerk went to thank her for her patronage, he was blown back by the massive nose bleed he suffered from seeing her now. Tier chuckled at the man's plight, absolutely pleased by the reaction her new clothes caused, it seemed as though she was still a prankster at heart,

"Perfect!" She murmured to herself, the smile she wore slowly widening into a small grin.

Tier entered Tazuna's house quietly, hoping to sneak up on Jiraiya and shock him at her sudden appearance and her new clothes. As she slowly walked down the hall, the door from the kitchen opened to show Tsunami poking her head out to see who had come in with confusion on her face before it changed to a smile when she saw the shock of blonde hair of Tier,

"Ohayo, Tier-chan! I see got some….new …..c-clo-thes….." Tsunami started to say, before her face progressively got more and more red as she studied Tier's new clothes.

Tier was wearing a similar outfit to what she arrived in, with some major differences. The jacket was short sleeved and small collared with no buttons on the front in a dark orange colour, the same colour as the sash she now wore. Her hakama were still hipless but in black stopping just above the dark orange tabi and black zori she wore as footwear. A dark orange scarf was wrapped and her lower face in place of the high collar she used to wear, and black leather fingerless gloves that covered her hands in light protection. But the most glaring thing that grabbed her attention was the extremely tight latex catsuit that covered all the skin that would have been exposed by the outfit. It accentuated her toned, lithe body beautifully with its shine, high-lighting her curves with maddening quality.

All this combined with Tier's lush golden hair and her mesmerising emerald eyes, caused Tsunami to have a full body blush before she rocketed back into the kitchen with an awe-inspiring nose bleed.

Tier sweat-dropped at what happened, surprised at Tsunami's reaction before she went to make sure she was alright. As Tier knelt next to the still blushing but otherwise unconscious woman, she heard Tsunami mumbling to herself. Curious as to what it was, she moved her ear closer to hear exactly what Tsunami was saying,

"Oh….. Harribel-sama….that's too big…*giggle*…..Your so naughty…." Tier jerked her head back, blinking owlishly at what she heard but couldn't help but feel proud and surprisingly horny as she thought on what she heard.

"…this is going to fun…..dattebayo…" Tier chuckled perversely to herself, the verbal tic and the small nose bleed going unnoticed as she lost herself into the bizarre thoughts and day dreams that began to plague her mind.

Chapter End.

(A/N) Hope this new chapter makes up for a little bit of the hassle I caused by not updating in months. The next chapter probably won't be as long as this one but the target will be at least 4000 words. Please review this chapter and let me know if this start is better than what it was originally.

Meanings:

Tabi- Japanese Socks

Zori- Japanese Sandals

Hakama- Japanese Trousers

Arashi Benikaze out.


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